When we think of iconic 1970s country cuts, songs like “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings or Dolly Parton’s scorned lover jam, “Jolene,” often come to mind. And understandably so—these songs are bona fide hits.
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But in case your go-to music playlists need refreshing or you’re interested in revisiting tracks you haven’t listened to in a while, we’ve gathered four 1970s country cuts that are well-deserving of a re-listen.
“Rollin’ With the Flow” by Charlie Rich
T.G. Sheppard first released “Rollin’ with the Flow” in 1974. But the most famous version is far and away the one by Charlie Rich, which he released three years later. Its washy arrangements and sardonic lyrics make the 1970s country cut sound more like a Mac DeMarco or Kurt Vile track than something from the late 1970s. (Vile has a great cover of this track, too, by the way.)
The easy-listening groove, about a man over 30 years old reflecting on his life and how he has chosen to live it thus far, topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts.
“Big Man” by Charlie Daniels
If you heard this track and never realized it was Charlie Daniels, we wouldn’t necessarily blame you. With a groove that sounds like it came straight from Motown and a vocal delivery that has an almost Bill Withers-esque cadence, this 1973 track is the funkiest offering on our list of 1970s country cuts. “Big Man” first appeared on Daniels’ 1973 album Honey in the Rock.
Epic Records re-released the album in 1976 as Uneasy Rider, capitalizing on the success of the title track and B-side opener. “Uneasy Rider” might have scored higher in the charts. But we’d argue “Big Man” is even better.
“I Gotta Get Drunk” by Willie Nelson
The man on the cover of Willie Nelson’s 1970 album, Both Sides Now, is hardly recognizable as the pigtail-clad, marijuana-smoking outlaw we know and love Nelson to be today. With short hair and a smart pea coat, Nelson looks practically square and straight-laced.
Songs like “I Gotta Get Drunk,” of course, clue the listener in to how much of an illusion this is. One of the classic 1970s country cuts about drinking, the song offers a snapshot into Nelson’s former life as a struggling alcoholic and recording artist who had yet to find his footing as a full-fledged country music icon.
“Spanish Pipedream” by John Prine
Virtually any 1970s country cut from John Prine’s eponymous debut deserves a spot on this list. But in a world where anxiety is high, the news always seems to be bad, and everything seems so bleakly serious, “Spanish Pipedream” is as much a musical salve as it is some much-needed comic relief, even decades after its release.
The song has plenty of cheeky one-liners, like I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve. However, the best part is easily the chorus: Blow up your TV, throw away your paper, go to the country, build you a home. Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches, try and find Jesus on your own. Sound advice from a songwriting genius.
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